Chipotle Guacamole: It’s Still On The Menu

Climate change gets blamed for a lot of things and now it is being blamed for a possible guacamole shortage that could cause restaurants like Chipotle to remove the item from their menu. Climate change has caused a major drought in California, where most of the avocados used in guacamole in the United States are grown.

The drought has led to poor yields of avocados and other crops grown in California. As a result, shipments of the produce are behind and many restaurants are not getting the avacodos within a timely manner or at all. Chipotle recently said that as supply and demand goes, the less avocados there are, the higher their price. If the restaurant chain can not afford to take on the extra cost, they will just remove the guacamole from the menu.

“In the event of cost increases with respect to one or more of our raw ingredients, we may choose to temporarily suspend serving menu items, such as guacamole or one or more of our salsas, rather than paying the increased cost for the ingredients,” the company said in a recent 10-K filing.

Chipotle uses 97,000 pounds of avocado per day and it takes at least 72 pounds of avocados to make just one batch of guacamole. If they do not receive a large enough shipment of avocados, they may not be able to keep up with customer demands. Chipotle brags about using local foods and since the restaurant chain has the most restaurants in California, that is where they buy their avocados.

The company has reassured customers that they have not removed guacamole from the menu yet and may not have to after all. Although the company released the information in a recent report, they claim that they have made similar reports in previous years and not removed any items from the menu.

Do you think Chipotle will have to remove the guacamole from their menus?